Le Pen, Trump, dark times

Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, December 10th, 2015 - 73 comments
Categories: Europe, International, us politics - Tags: , ,

As the world meets in Paris, in desperate need of sanity and unity, the tides of political madness seem to be rising everywhere.

Take Europe – an excellent piece by Rafael Behr in The Guardian:

As Le Pen rises Europe’s liberal dream is disappearing in front of our eyes

When Jean-Marie Le Pen made it into the second round of the 2002 French presidential election, part of the horror many voters felt was in seeing, in stark light, a face of the nation that had previously been in shadow. “It means people we know voted for the Front National,” a shaken friend and supporter of the Socialist candidate, Lionel Jospin, told me at the time. …

The near certainty that Le Pen’s daughter will be a presidential contender for 2017 is shocking in a different way, landing with the banal thud of grim inevitability. Marine Le Pen saunters through French politics emanating the sharp smell of professionally laundered fascism. She has distanced herself and her party from the brutish style of her father, jettisoning explicit racism, colonising the political space where his extreme position shades into mainstream respectability. After a triumphant showing in the first round of regional elections last weekend, the Front National claims to be France’s main opposition party.

But France is not an exception. A long malaise in continental liberal democracy is beginning to feel more like decline. …

Read on for a discussion of several example countries, grim but fascinating.

And, of course, America:

Donald Trump is an actual fascist: What his surging popularity says about the GOP base

The word “fascist” has been abused by the left over the years. But a look at Trump’s rhetoric shows scary parallels

In the political discussion of today, there always comes a risk of being discounted as a crackpot when using a word like “fascist” to describe a political opponent. The word, much like “socialist,” has been so abused since the fall of fascism that it lost its meaning quite some time ago. …

In a recent article by Jeffrey Tucker, however, it is argued, quite justly in my opinion, that Donald Trump, whether he knows it or not, is a fascist (or is at least acting like one). Much like Mussolini and Hitler, Trump is a demagogue dedicated to riling up the people (particularly conservatives) with race baiting, traditionalism and strongman tough talk — and, according to polls, it’s working — for now.

That was written way back in July, since then Trump’s dominance of the polls has increased significantly, and his hate-speech against Muslims has become unhinged: Utterly repellent and malignant: world reacts to Trump’s anti-Muslim tirade.

These are dark times for sanity. In closing I want to go back to the first piece (Behr) quoted above:

No two countries have exactly analogous politics, but common threads run across Europe. The unifying dynamic appears to be the interaction of financial insecurity and the cultural detachment of governing elites from the governed. From Paris to Warsaw, politicians of the technocratic centre are perceived as a caste apart, professionally complacent, insulated by hoarded privilege from the anxiety provoked in electorates by economic turbulence and abrupt demographic change. On to that canvas is then projected the spectre of terrorism, smuggled into the body politic by refugees from predominantly Muslim countries.

What makes this resurgent nationalism so hard to defuse is the panache with which it sports the robes of popular democracy – as indeed nationalism has always done.

I’m not suggesting that NZ is there yet. But there are echoes.

trump-furor

(Philadelphia Daily News)

73 comments on “Le Pen, Trump, dark times ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. One Anonymous Bloke 1
    10 December 2015 at 9:03 am

    Trump may get the GOP nomination – that is in itself a tragedy. He has no show of winning a presidential election. On current polling.

    I expect Daesh (also fascists) – given their avowed commitment to chaos – can think of ways to try and increase his popularity.

    • RedLogix 1.1
      10 December 2015 at 9:32 am

      On the basis of current polling yes. But there is another long year before the USA votes and chaos will only strengthen Trump’s hand.

      And Clinton herself is a challenging figure. Yes she would be the first female US President and this would be an outcome to be proud of. But it also her Achilles Heel in a society disfigured by Christian fundamentalism, rent by internal gender and culture wars, and disillusioned with the political classes she so visibly represents.

      So while in the usual course of events you should be correct OAB … part of me cannot assign a non-zero probability to Trump becoming a new Caesar.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1
        10 December 2015 at 9:37 am

        Neither did I. I said he has no show on current polling, and that I expect Daesh are hoping to turn that around for him.

        • Ad 1.1.1.1
          10 December 2015 at 9:41 am

          It would only take a couple more non-European mass-death nut-jobs on US soil to really shove up his popularity and force the full GOP machinery behind him.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1.1.1
            10 December 2015 at 10:44 am

            Perhaps, perhaps not – for one thing the US electorate must have some sort of maximum stupidity level – and Trump may have already scraped that barrel dry.

            • Ad 1.1.1.1.1.1
              10 December 2015 at 11:47 am

              Win or lose either the nomination or the Presidency, Trump has certainly permanently changed American politics. Goldwater didn’t even come close to this.

              There’s a set of unique dynamics that come in to play when one chooses the full populist route. See Elias Canetti’s Crowds and Power, which analysed not only the populist orchestration set running prior to World War Two, but also of the massed left and anti-war demonstrations into the 1950s.

              Trump only has a few of the skills needed to really drive oratory to where it would need to go, and his campaign machinery is small and independent compared to the full GOP capacity and its Superpac forces. Far too early to Godwin yet, and he’s only getting started. Plenty upside to go yet for him, and he knows it.

              Whereas Marie Le Pen’s crowd are different. They bring in not only the usual southern French crowd, and its huge retired military base, but also pull huge support from Parisian gays and other minorities who are seeking the party with the strongest resistance to threats to their very existence.

              • Grindlebottom …
                10 December 2015 at 12:29 pm

                I liked a description I read somewhere that Trump is basically a more experienced & media-savvy version of Sarah Palin. That his appeal is driven by simple answers to over-simplified questions, an insistence that all politicians are corrupt idiots, railing against political correctness, and the constant refrain that ordinary folks are getting screwed. Plus he’s not a politician, and he’s a celebrity, and in the US celebrity counts as ridiculously important with so many stupid people.

                While I hope he never gets elected President I agree it looks likely he’ll get the Republican nomination at the moment. Because he’s been roundly attacked by so many other politicians for his ban the muslims outbursts the next few polls are going to be particularly interesting to see whether that counts for or against him.

              • miravox …
                10 December 2015 at 9:35 pm

                “Whereas Marie Le Pen’s crowd are different. They bring in not only the usual southern French crowd…”

                I was in the South of France over the weekend. As expected, the security was tight – military at the airports, bag checks in public places etc., etc.

                But Monday morning, after the election results, it was a whole different ball game. Military actively patrolling lots of streets and lots private security (some dressed in military-like gear). It seemed there was a new game in town – a noticeable upping of security presence with no notice of an increased threat beyond that of the day before. Very disconcerting.

                • North …
                  10 December 2015 at 10:57 pm

                  Oh Miravox you lucky bugger…..in the South of France. Where in Cavalaire-Sur-Mer 25 km from St Tropez I did a summer season OE job in a domestic French camping ground. 35 years ago. Wonderful memories !

                  • miravox …
                    10 December 2015 at 11:28 pm

                    Yes, very lucky indeed. We had a great weekend. But just to make you feel better about it – it rained. A lot.

                    Cavalaire-Sur-Mer looks good – a great costal walk there too. Maybe next time we’ll have a look at that.

      • One Two 1.1.2
        12 December 2015 at 1:49 pm

        Hillary as president would be nothing to be proud of. She is a disgraceful human being

        This mentality that people should feel content at achieving a ‘first’ no matter the circumstances, is purile leftist nonsense

  2. RedLogix 2
    10 December 2015 at 9:20 am

    In both the American and French cases, the rise of the populist fascist is the direct result of the political classes isolation from ordinary people and their concerns.

    The right is entirely the tool of a tiny uber-wealthy minority; the left fractured into a menagerie of competing interests much of the electorate either does not identify with or is suspicious of.

    The extreme polarisation of the political debate has paralysed and degraded the political process – such that most people are utterly disengaged from it. But this is not the same as unaffected by it – and while the mass of voters remain apathetic the paralysis can be sustained.

    But now the mass of voters sense imminent change, and they are no longer of a habit nor mood to listen to conventional voices. Now is the moment of the populist demagogue. It actually matters little whether they articulate left or right wing policy; their power is derived directly from their repudiation of the status quo, and promises of restoration.

    • ropata 2.1
      10 December 2015 at 9:32 am

      Trump is just a symptom of the slow implosion of the GOP. There’s been a popular backlash to Trump across the UK

      “He’s portraying a stupefying ignorance that makes him unfit to be President.” @MayorofLondon on @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/fQlPLRFcgv— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) December 9, 2015

      http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/08/donald-trump-anti-muslim-ban-world-reacts

      http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/trumpfacts-britons-react-hilariously-on-twitter-to-donald-trump-s-radicalised-london-comments-a3133686.html

    • Ad 2.2
      10 December 2015 at 9:38 am

      Curious then the many countries that extremism hasn’t caught on.

      Canada, UK, Australia – even Greece. They have had plenty of multicultural pressure over the last few decades, but the far right have got essentially nowhere.

      It’s not enough to say that the left is splintering and inchoate, and the right have all the money, therefore the moneyed demagogues are always going to win.

      I don’t think the reasons for the rise of Trump and Le Pen are the same.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 2.2.1
        10 December 2015 at 9:40 am

        Well put. I note Canada just rejected a wingnut loon.

      • RedLogix 2.2.2
        10 December 2015 at 9:46 am

        I suspect both of you are mis-reading my contention. It is not the rise of right-wing extremism which is the essential feature here. It is the rapidly opening door which has been folded inside a largely silent and hidden majority opening to embrace a populist demagogues such as Trump.

        Will this happen everywhere at the same time? No. But we do often see it happen in the fading days of once powerful imperial nations.

        • Ad 2.2.2.1
          10 December 2015 at 11:58 am

          I just don’t see Trump as any signal of US weakness of decline.

          Win or lose, Trump will certainly shunt US foreign relations permanently rightward again, further than the Bush II Presidency. When Trump wins the nomination, I would anticipate a GOP Congress and House to signal that foreign wars are simply unaffordable. Same signal to Clinton.

          But under either Clinton or Trump as President, I think the US military will double down on airpower, missiles, tech-attacks, sabotage, drones and naval deployment. Their militarized empire will shrink, but only by ‘boots on the ground’.

          I also see ISIS, trade agreements, and climate change providing steadily growing motives for international cooperation. Call me odd, but the UN may well be the big winner out of all of them.

          • RedLogix 2.2.2.1.1
            10 December 2015 at 3:37 pm

            I also see ISIS, trade agreements, and climate change providing steadily growing motives for international cooperation. Call me odd, but the UN may well be the big winner out of all of them.

            I understand this. There is always more than one process at work at a time. What may be visible on the surface, may well have a counter-current under it.

            But whether or not it is Trump, or Le Pen who attain power, is less important that the fact they are rapidly demolishing layers of taboos Western politics has largely observed about populist fascism since WW2.

            • greywarshark 2.2.2.1.1.1
              10 December 2015 at 4:21 pm

              Slavoj Zizek turns over the received wisdom about PC’ness. He says thatby not speaking or seeing what is reality to you and what you think, is a different form of totalatarianism. The English text is shown, and if the image is distracting, you can listen and work on another link at the same time.

              He gives an example to the situation where if your boss is very nice to you and friendly the power difference between you becomes more impenetrable.

              He seems to be saying that the taboos that have been accepted have not smothered the differences between people, but they remain hidden widely unnoticed but ready to flourish again.

              Tom Lehrer handles it in National Brotherhood Week. In his own inimitable style. He points out past religious conflicts, the Protestants hated the Catholics and showed vice in versa, the Hindus v the Muslims, and everyone hated the Jews (his religion.)
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUwbZ9AlSPI
              Then having a go at the Catholics – the Vatican Rag
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H1TE_jG0i4

              Now you can’t criticise anyone without having the virtual ruler put over your knuckles. And the old problems rise again, like vampires that can never be vanquished without sunlight shining on them.

            • Ad 2.2.2.1.1.2
              10 December 2015 at 4:50 pm

              True. It will almost certainly re-align activist forces, including within the left.

      • Pat 2.2.3
        10 December 2015 at 10:01 pm

        extremism didn’t “catch on” in all countries in the20/30s either….didnt prevent it from causing the odd problem or two

    • Pat 2.3
      10 December 2015 at 9:42 am

      much like the inter war period of the last century…..similar result?

  3. Olwyn 3
    10 December 2015 at 10:08 am

    Chris Hedges, while concentrating on the US, is thinking along similar lines:

    We have entered a new and dangerous phase in American political life. The ruling political elites have been exposed as charlatans. The rage of the underclass, especially the white underclass, has broken its bonds. The age of the demagogues has arrived. http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_age_of_the_demagogues_20151129

    He seems to think that the breakdown of institutions, intended to protect the weak from the strong, have removed the conditions that would contain a potential demagogue. And New Zealanders should not be too complacent either – we too have the breakdown of institutional restraints, a leader that laughs such matters off, and an increasing number of people yearning for relief from hardship, anxiety and exclusion. People generally driving on the recommended side of the road, and frozen peas sitting tidily in supermarket freezers are not a reliable indication that all is well.

    • RedLogix 3.1
      10 December 2015 at 10:30 am

      Yes. That expresses the argument. This is less about left and right than it is about the failure of politics altogether.

    • Ad 3.2
      10 December 2015 at 12:03 pm

      It’s just too early to start calling Mussolini on this.
      The reach for unlikely comparisons is getting stranger.

      A weekend ago the left were fully united on the streets.
      When was the last time you saw a right wing march in the streets?
      The right can hardly fill a small hall in Te Atatu with young darlings rattling their pearls at the Lovely Man.

      • Olwyn 3.2.1
        10 December 2015 at 12:41 pm

        A weekend ago the left were fully united on the streets.

        And a few days ago, someone was made minister for climate change who declares this to be a subject about which she knows nothing. To my mind, this move was an act of hubris – a “what are you going to do about it then?” sneer, at both the left and those who purport to represent them. Moreover, given that this minister has overseen restrictions on benefits, and has moved onto apply the same formula to housing, it suggests that climate change may well be used as the excuse for further bullying of the vulnerable, again with a “what are you going to do about it?” sneer.

        This shows a political class that feels free to laugh at those they don’t think they need, however united on the street they may be. It sees no need either to bow to institutional restraints, as is shown by the manner in which Judith Collins has been ‘cleared’ of wrongdoing and returned to the ministerial fold. The frustration brought about by such license opens the door to demagogic saviours, while the reduced power of institutions prevents such saviours from being contained. I do not say we are there yet, but I do say we are permitting the preconditions for such an occurrence.

      • Robert Glennie 3.2.2
        10 December 2015 at 12:42 pm

        I saw the Right Wing Resistance assemble at a park in Christchurch. By the time you add the many who went to the counter protest including myself, and the police contingent, you could just about fill a hall.

      • BM 3.2.3
        10 December 2015 at 1:01 pm

        This is where you’re failing some what.

        1) Right leaning people don’t march, it’s a waste of time and it’s the height of wankery.

        2) Right leaning people aren’t politically active they save it for elections.

        3) Right leaning people leave it to the politicians and get on with life.

        • Ad 3.2.3.1
          10 December 2015 at 1:35 pm

          Le Pen and Trump show that to be totally wrong.

          • BM 3.2.3.1.1
            10 December 2015 at 1:43 pm

            Not in NZ.
            The right here have no interest in protesting.

            • Ad 3.2.3.1.1.1
              10 December 2015 at 1:55 pm

              That’s because they are in power.

              Or did you miss:
              – “enough’s enough”
              – fart tax protests
              – anti smacking
              – truckie tax protests
              – foreshore and seabed protests
              – massive anti got litigation
              Etc etc

              Do you live under a rock?

              • Ad …
                10 December 2015 at 1:59 pm

                Gov’t not got

              • BM …
                10 December 2015 at 2:24 pm

                “Enough’s enough”?, is that the one where there was a protest against John Banks when he was mayor of Auckland, couple of thousand, but seriously, right leaning people protesting against a right leaning mayor?

                Anti smacking = Mainly religious groups, numbered in the 100’s

                Foreshore and seabed protests – Maori sovereignty issues nothing to do with right leaning people.

                Fart tax protests, truckie tax protests = business interest protests, numbered in the hundreds

                Generally right wing people have very little interest in protest, that’s a left wing past time.

                • Ad …
                  10 December 2015 at 4:48 pm

                  “enough is enough” is where there were spectacular parades with guys in black shirts punching the air, organized by Destiny Church.

                  The Anti-Smacking marches were indeed organized by mostly Christian groups – by and large the very definition of right wing in this country.

                  Great you think Maori have no right wing, and there was no right wing element to those marches.

                  All you are doing is trying to write a history of political activism as if the right-leaning are the status quo and the left-leaning are the rabble, something like that sad little book from 40 years ago, ‘The Passionless People”. It’s just ass.

                  • tracey …
                    11 December 2015 at 7:43 am

                    status quo, apathetic, antichange, seeking comfort no matter how much it hurts them or those around them…. and that is the kind of attitude that has us where we are today… but then BM is wanting to wait until climate change results in personal catastrophes before accepting it is real – AND THAT is the right wing supporters mantra, as long as *I* am fine, I am happy with what we have. Unless it’s Labour

            • tracey 3.2.3.1.1.2
              11 December 2015 at 7:41 am

              They DO NOT leave it to politicians, they lobby them and pay them so they don’t need to march. You can’t be this blind surely BM?

              • BM …
                11 December 2015 at 7:50 am

                I’m talking about your average right leaning voter.
                Not wealthy business people or conservative religious fundamentalists.

                As you probably know.
                https://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results

                • tracey …
                  11 December 2015 at 8:18 am

                  who don’t need t march because others are doing the work for them to ensure they feel comfortable and represented.

                  Your link, for example, stops you from caring that our Governemtn is obstructing OIA’s and has slowly undermined personal liberties through its use of fear (most otably ISIS). So, your posting of the link = QED

        • miravox 3.2.3.2
          10 December 2015 at 8:10 pm

          The right do a lot more than march when they feel threatened. That authoritarian streak is long and strong.

      • Puddleglum 3.2.4
        11 December 2015 at 11:15 am

        Hi Ad,

        In an interesting sense, the arguments you have made about some on the left being too pessimistic about the prospects of ‘centrist leftism’ and its appeal to the ‘mainstream’ themselves imply support for the argument that a kind of disenchanted populist wave is lapping against the established political order.

        That is, If such disenchantment with ‘normal’ politics wasn’t the case then you would not have to be making these arguments.

        These are not moderate times. Even established political parties are incorporating the rhetoric and positioning of – and trying to co-opt – just this frustration with ‘moderate’ business as usual politics. Note the recent rhetoric of Abbott, Cameron, Harper and our own Prime Minister’s strange parliamentary displays over ISIS and deportees from Australia.

        Even the popularity of Little’s ‘cut the crap’ comment is an indication of the same, disenchanted sentiment and of mainstream politicians’ sense that they need to tap that frustration.

        In this environment ‘the centre cannot hold’.

        • Ad 3.2.4.1
          12 December 2015 at 2:44 pm

          I like that argument, and I disagree, so let me divide that up into bits.

          I would make a clear distinction between “enlightened”, “modernist” and “left”.

          I’m all three, but they have really different roles in how I analyze things.

          1. My tradition is part of the Enlightenment – that is, the rationality of proof and of science should be allowed to run free and banish all superstition wherever it likes, and enables the vast machinery of invention and inventiveness to make our lives so much richer. It’s been going on for a fair few centuries, it’s helped generate the best works of art of the western world and its great industrial surge. My cultural traditions and my life are far and away better for it. And I believe it’s worth defending.

          Enlightenment rationality is anti-extremism.

          2. My professional and aesthetic sensibility is modernist – that is, the development of the state as the primary large-scale identifier and organizer of humanity provides all kinds of distributive and specializing mechanisms that enable this thing called policy to happen.

          Modernism sure has its faults as the last century shows, but the match between Enlightement and Modernity has propelled the developed world into lived sophistication that the world has never known.

          Modernism gives the sinew and propulsive force to Enlightenment principles.

          3. I’m left. That means I want there to be as little as possible inequality, no poverty, and a common wealth guaranteed by the modernist state and enlightenment rationality.

          Which is a long winded way of saying that those three things together stop me believing that extremism is called for now. To me it’s a matter of principle. And when I see thousands of people on the streets protesting peacefully and engaged in all kinds of generative and generous activism, or negotiating treaties, I know others believe as I do.

    • Grindlebottom 3.3
      10 December 2015 at 1:12 pm

      That’s odd. I got to read page 1 of your article at 3 above Olwyn (very interesting) but the browser wouldn’t open page 2, and now my browser just hangs when I click on your link or on any other article on truthdig.com. Works fine on all other sites. (Could be the NSA I s’pose….)

      • Olwyn 3.3.1
        10 December 2015 at 1:34 pm

        Hi Grindlebottom: I just tried it again and it still works for me. I am using firefox, I don’t know whether that makes a difference.

        • Grindlebottom 3.3.1.1
          10 December 2015 at 4:12 pm

          Cheers Olwyn. Yes it does make a difference. I can access it with Firefox but not with Chrome.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.4
      10 December 2015 at 2:42 pm

      That probably explains why National and FJK are so popular ATM.

  4. Draco T Bastard 4
    10 December 2015 at 1:32 pm

    The Bully’s Pulpit
    On the elementary structure of domination

    Sooner or later, every project for human freedom will have to comprehend why we accept societies being ranked and ordered by violence and domination to begin with. And it strikes me that our visceral reaction to weakness and cowardice, our strange reluctance to identify with even the most justifiable forms of fear, might provide a clue.

    Perhaps the problem is that we’re all scared and just don’t want to show it.

    • Ad 4.1
      10 December 2015 at 1:38 pm

      I’m not.
      Are you?

      • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1
        10 December 2015 at 2:10 pm

        Not particularly although I do have concerns for the future especially if we continue to allow and encourage such bullying as we see:

        But if we are ever going to move toward a genuinely free society, then we’re going to have to recognize how the triangular and mutually constitutive relationship of bully, victim, and audience really works, and then develop ways to combat it.

    • tracey 4.2
      11 December 2015 at 7:44 am

      How many women have allegedly gone off to become Jihadi Brides? Less than 12 apparently, but look at the fear it has sowed.

      People who are fearful cling to the status quo and hanker for the imagned old days. That si right wing territory right there. The fear doesn’t have to be real, people just have to think it is,

  5. Ad 5
    10 December 2015 at 1:52 pm

    If half the nations railing against Trump practised what they preached about Christians who are ruthlessly oppressed in their own countries, I’d have even more sympathy for them. Decreasing actual torture of Christians in Muslim countries is more real than a mere US candidates’ frothing.

    Al Jazeera is going particularly weird on it.

    • Steve Wrathall 5.1
      10 December 2015 at 2:19 pm

      Exactly. How much non-Muslim immigration do AJ’s gulf paymasters allow? But a US candidate suggests that his country pushes pause on the importation of an ideology that is incompatible with women/gay rights & democracy and the Media Party wigs out.

    • tracey 5.2
      11 December 2015 at 7:51 am

      People are hypocrites but hate equally. Whodday thunkit.

  6. greywarshark 6
    10 December 2015 at 4:35 pm

    Slavoj Zizek turns over the received wisdom about PC’ness. He says that not speaking or seeing what is reality to you and what you think, is a different form of totalatarianism. (The English text is shown, and if the image is distracting, you can listen and work on another link at the same time.)

    He gives an example of the situation where if your boss is very nice to you and friendly the power difference between you becomes more impenetrable.

    He seems to be saying that the taboos that have been accepted have not smothered the differences between people, but they remain hidden widely unnoticed but ready to flourish again.

    Tom Lehrer handles it in National Brotherhood Week. In his own inimitable style. He points out past religious conflicts, the Protestants hated the Catholics and showed vice in versa, the Hindus v the Muslims, and everyone hated the Jews (his religion.)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUwbZ9AlSPI
    Then having a go at the Catholics – the Vatican Rag
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H1TE_jG0i4

    Now you can’t criticise anyone without having the virtual ruler put over your knuckles. And the old problems rise again, like vampires that can never be vanquished without sunlight shining on them.
    edited

  7. joe90 7
    10 December 2015 at 8:25 pm

    Bloke has a crack.

    Iyad El-Baghdadi
    ‏@iyad_elbaghdadi

    What’s causing the global rise of right wing “populism”? This is from a previous discussion.

    https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/674065876791001089

    • vto 7.1
      10 December 2015 at 8:51 pm

      “majoritarianism”

      That is a good line.

      The tyranny of the masses, a-la 1930’s Germany and 2015 USA and France.

    • miravox 7.2
      10 December 2015 at 8:54 pm

      An interesting synthesis of views

      Number 1 needs a bit more depth – as some commenters there point out, it’s not the ‘intermixing’ that appears to be a problem, it’s when the ‘intermixing’ doesn’t happen or is when there is a fear of migrants rather than there being actual migrants.

      Numbers 4, 5, and 6 are a bit problematic. 4 and 6 may be contradicting each other.

      I’d add a 12 – increased presence of authoritarian christianity in politics, particularly the in US.

  8. millsy 8
    11 December 2015 at 9:01 am

    Is Trump really any worse than the other GOP contenders?

  9. acrophobic 9
    11 December 2015 at 12:51 pm

    The reason the extreme right is gaining traction is simple. Islamic oppression and aggression against the west. This is the inconvenient truth. Since the 1970’s there have been 69 attacks by Islamic terrorists on the UK and 82 on the US. This is in addition to the hundreds of attacks by Islamic terrorists in Europe, the middle east and elsewhere.

    Those who blame western foreign policy for these outrages simply don’t understand Islam. It is the philosophy of wahhabism that drives groups such as daesh, along with the concept of jihad, embedded in their interpretation of the koran and hadith. These philosophies have been an active part of Islam for centuries, long before countries such as the US began their pointless incursions into Afghanistan, Iraq etc.

    Until and unless leaders in the west can name the menace for what it is, and resolve to deal with it, the Trumps and LePens of this world, with all their inherent dangers, will continue to attract support.

    • Draco T Bastard 9.1
      12 December 2015 at 2:31 pm

      These philosophies have been an active part of Islam for centuries, long before countries such as the US began their pointless incursions into Afghanistan, Iraq etc.

      [citation needed]

      And then you’d also have to prove that they were still part of Islam. Or are you also going to argue that Christianity still burns witches because they did so centuries in the past?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 9.2
      12 December 2015 at 3:11 pm

      Only eighty-two?

      This year, there have been more “acts of terror” – mass shootings, on US soil than there have been days of the year. Since June 2004, there have been four hundred and ninety-one US drone strikes.

      I note that your figure of eighty-two includes the “Harlem Mosque Incident”, does it not? I’ll leave it to others to decide whether that’s a tad disingenuous much.

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  • What is the Hardest Sport in the World?
    Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • What is the Most Expensive Sport?
    The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • Pickleball On the Cusp of Olympic Glory
    Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • The Origin and Evolution of Soccer Unveiling the Genius Behind the World’s Most Popular Sport
    Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • How Much to Tint Car Windows A Comprehensive Guide
    Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • Why Does My Car Smell Like Gas? A Comprehensive Guide to Diagnosing and Fixing the Issue
    The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • How to Remove Tree Sap from Car A Comprehensive Guide
    Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • How Much Paint Do You Need to Paint a Car?
    The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • Can You Jump a Car in the Rain? Safety Precautions and Essential Steps
    Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 hours ago

  • Can taxpayers be confident PIJF cash was spent wisely?
    Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    8 hours ago

  • EGU2024 – An intense week of joining sessions virtually
    Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
    Skeptical Science
    10 hours ago

  • Submission on “Fast Track Approvals Bill”
    The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    11 hours ago

  • The Case for a Universal Family Benefit
    One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    12 hours ago

  • A who’s who of New Zealand’s dodgiest companies
    Submissions on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law are due today (have you submitted?), and just hours before they close, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has been forced to release the list of companies he invited to apply. I've spent the last hour going through it in an epic thread of bleats, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    14 hours ago

  • On Lee’s watch, Economic Development seems to be stuck on scoring points from promoting sporting e...
    Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    15 hours ago

  • New Zealand has never been closed for business
    1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    16 hours ago

  • Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    19 hours ago

  • Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
    Chris Trotter writes –  MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    20 hours ago

  • The Hoon around the week to April 19
    TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    20 hours ago

  • The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
    Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago

  • Nicola's Salad Days.
    I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    22 hours ago

  • Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
    TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago

  • Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
    It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    23 hours ago

  • Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  The data is from February this ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 day ago

  • Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 days ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 days ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 days ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    2 days ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    2 days ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    2 days ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    4 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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